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The idea existed in
the mind of the new immigrant that, if only they worked hard enough,
they could become successful. Such success was most often measured
in financial terms, though not everyone defined "success" in exactly
the same way.
The term "American Dream" was first coined by historian and writer
Jame Truslow Adams in his 1931 book "The Epic of America,"
though the "dream" itself was alive for many, well before the term
was actually coined. Adams wrote:
The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be
better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each
according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the
European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us
ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream
of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in
which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest
stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by
others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances
of birth or position."
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The term "The
Golden Land," when talked about among townspeople in Europe and
elsewhere about what life was like in the United States, who talked
about immigrating there, implied that the streets were "paved with
gold."
Of course, it is unlikely that many people actually believed this,
but this imagery did create and build upon the idea that there was a
great deal of opportunity in the States for financial success and
prosperity.... |
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